Digital Gate: Re-Open!
by Birdboy
Summary: A year after saving the digital world from the Dark Masters, the gate between worlds opens in their school's computer lab, and the chosen children learn that destroying Spiral Mountain wasn't enough to bring digimon everywhere peace. Written for Digimon Adventure's 16th anniversary.


Koushirou didn't know what to make of the new program that had suddenly appeared on the school computers, a file with the name "Digital Gate". He had still held out hope that the path to the digital world would someday open again – so did all the chosen children – although in the months since Diablomon's defeat, his hope had receded further and further away.

The obvious explanation for any mysterious program the internet could tell him nothing about that had suddenly appeared on the school computers was that it was a trojan. But he hadn't heard of any trojans which would appear suddenly on every computer in the Odaiba Elementary School Computer Lab at once, but not otherwise interfere with their functioning in any way. Besides, the program's name did contain "gate" and his digivice had started beeping the moment he entered the room.

He had his suspicions, but if he was right, he wasn't going to test them alone. He wasn't the only one who had been waiting so long for this moment, and the four who were offline during the Diablomon fight had been waiting even longer. Even if he was going to succumb to excitement and try to enter right away, the digital world could be a very dangerous place without his friends to protect him, and he had met many enemies which Tentomon (or AtlurKabuterimon) couldn't possibly defeat on his own.

 _I found a new program on the school computers. I think it might lead us back to the digital world. Meet me in the computer lab right after school_ – _I'll be waiting._

The children gathered, one after another, their digivices beeping as they entered the computer lab. Mimi was the first to arrive, having raced halfway across the school in the hope of seeing Palmon before she had to move with her parents around the world; she knew how desperate her partner had been not to say goodbye and wondered if she was doing okay. But the others missed their digimon every bit as much, and didn't take all that much longer; they couldn't wait to see them again.

Only Hikari and Jou kept them waiting; the former because she walked, not ran, lost deep in thought about what them being able to come back meant for Tailmon and the digital world, the latter because he had to make his way across town from Odaiba's middle school.

"So now that we're all here, how do we get into the digital world?" Taichi asked.

"I think this application is the key," Koushirou answered. "And I've been waiting hours to try this." He finally clicked on the Digital Gate icon, and a whirling vortex emerged from the school computer, pulling all eight children back into the world that they had once been chosen to save.

* * *

Like the first time they entered the digital world, the chosen children arrived exactly where their partners had been waiting, and they embraced one another with tears of joy while talking about how much they had missed one another. Tailmon seemed slightly more guarded than the others, and her hug was a careful one – but then again, the claws on her gloves were sharp and non-retractable.

"Cheer up," Hikari said, "you finally get to be part of one of these."

"Right," Tailmon answered with a smile. "Was it like this last time?" she followed up, asking the other digimon.

"Jou was running away from me. But you're better now, right?" Gomamon joked, pointing to his partner with his claw.

"For your information, I ran across town to get _to_ you this time."

"Faster or slower than you ran away?" Gomamon jested. "Then again, I guess there's other digimon to run from these days! Let's get out of here!" he shouted, pointing with his paw to a hill high above where they had landed, which a squadron of Musyamon had begun to charge down, swords outstretched.

"I thought we had put all this fighting behind us! Wasn't the world supposed to be saved now?" Mimi griped as the sixteen of them ran. "What do they want, anyway?"

"Our money, probably. They're basically bandits," Palmon answered. "Though since we don't have much, they can always use us for sword practice."

"There are still digimon that _do_ that?" Hikari answered, appalled, short of breath, and struggling to keep up – her legs were still the smallest of the group. "No wonder we were called back..."

"They wouldn't call the chosen children for something like this," Patamon responded. "Even in the good old days before Devimon, there were digimon like this around – Leomon became famous for fighting them."

"And Ogremon was one of them," Mimi added, racing across a rope bridge that stood between her and a hundred-foot drop onto a frozen river. "Not the only one, and not the first, and I hope he was never quite as brutal..."

"Strong digimon have always been able to pick on the weak, but Vamdemon and the Dark Masters were on a whole different level," Tailmon added mournfully as she came to a stop – as did the other digimon, and the chosen children suddenly slowed up in front of them. "We should be safe here."

"So where are we? I don't think any of us saw this place last time around," Yamato asked, looking around at the many digimon-shaped buildings carved from ice, shaped like Angemon or Mojyamon or Garurumon – he hadn't noticed because he was running or talking, but wherever they had landed was as cold as Yukidarumon's home. "And we climbed Spiral Mountain and everything, so we should've seen the whole digital world."

"Welcome to the city of Coolant," Gabumon said with a faux bow. "I hope you enjoy your stay."

"But why is this place here?" Yamato asked, as a family of Penmon darted in front of him, skating along the ice.

"Well, the digital world had to rebuild after you won – Spiral Mountain disintegrated, remember? There's nothing that strange about it," Tentomon answered. "We had to rebuild, just did things a little differently this time around."

"No, it's more than that," Taichi added. "The buildings are different, but so is the geography. We _climbed_ Mugen Mountain and it wasn't nearly this cold, while the poles didn't have any true mountains."

"Taichi's right," Tailmon responded. "I've probably seen more of the digital world than anyone here, but a lot of places I traveled through after Spiral Mountain fell had no parallels in the old days. It's like our world is expanding... maybe that's why you've come here."

"Moore's law," Koushirou realized aloud.

"What's that?" Takeru asked.

"The digital world is a shadow of computer data in our world... but computer data isn't just staying the same. Every eighteen months, new computers get twice as powerful as their predecessors. And besides that, more people are getting computers and using the internet than ever before, and more companies are going online – even a few years ago, problems in the digital world wouldn't have done anything to our own," Koushirou explained.

"And if computers in your world expand, so does the digital world," Piyomon said. "It seems a little unfair; we digimon need to think of a way to expand your world by accident!"

The fifteen of them laughed, and ate, and chatted the night away, the bandits on their borders receding further and further away as they enjoyed their reunion, their lodging provided by a grateful Jijimon who feted the chosen children as heroes. Most adult and the couple perfect digimon in town raced to pay their respects once they heard the news that the chosen children were back, but more than a few YukiAgumon and Penmon shied away, whether fearful or simply... unimpressed.

When they awoke the next day, they assembled in Jijimon's home; with Gennai around, he seemed the oldest and wisest digimon to tell them what needed saving. And surprisingly, he was quite adamant that the city of Coolant did _not_.

"But those Musyamon are bandits!" Taichi shouted. "Palmon told us they rob travelers and use the ones who can't pay for sword practice!"

It was Jijimon's turn to shout back, brandish a claw-topped staff the size of his short, hairy body. "Those Musyamon are Lord Pukumon's underlings. And I'll have you know we don't want any trouble."

" _Lord_ Pukumon?" Mimi asked indignantly. "What kind of lord lets his men cut off digimon's heads? We're lucky we were fast enough to get out of there! And I thought Tonosama Gekomon was bad..."

"I'll report it if there have been any more incidents," Jijimon said with a resigned sigh, "but I don't think he'll take action. Besides, you guys all got away okay, which is all the excuse he needs; he'll just say you panicked and they didn't mean any harm."

"I've shown Pukumon what proof I could before," Palmon said sadly. "If digimon didn't disintegrate when killed I'd have a lot more evidence, but what can I show someone who doesn't want to see?"

"I don't know," Mimi said. "But if his soldiers are slaughtering digimon, I have to give him a piece of my mind. Where does Pukumon live?"

"Right now he's in camp on the border to the south with Mammon's domain. There's a river and a giant pole from your world he turned into a watch tower – you can't miss it," Jijimon answered. "And please, don't tell him I told you. Coolant's been at peace since he conquered it, but I don't think he trusts me, and I fear what would happen to this place if he removed me as governor for treason."

* * *

It was quite understandable, all things considered, why Ken Ichijouji would two years later mistake the Digital World for a grand strategy game. The world was divided into countless feuding lords and small village chieftains, most governing no more than the area which could be covered by a Dark Tower. For all their murderousness, Etemon, Devimon, Vamdemon, and the Dark Masters ruled large empires that at least offered some measure of stability for those who bent their knee and didn't get on their lord's bad side.

Admittedly, things had improved in much of the digital world, where either the weak united or the strong were appalled by their predecessors' brutality – but in much of the world, especially on the expanding frontier, the Dark Masters had been succeeded only by chaos. And one need not call the Chosen Children to save lands of peace.

The children and their digimon followed the river – in some stretches frozen over and host to digimon playing their strange version of curling – stopping occasionally to marvel at the strange landmarks of these new lands; they passed an igloo the size of a stadium, apparently constructed by some giant local digimon in imitation of earth models, shrugged, and moved along. The air conditioner which ran endlessly, despite it being outdoors and in the winter, seemed even odder; a freezing Mimi tried to turn it off, only to find pressing the buttons did nothing.

Before any of their number caught sight of the telephone pole which had been turned into a makeshift guard tower, their attention was diverting by a roaring stampede of Monochromon, led by a Mammon. Musyamon troops, with a few Ogremon and Goblimon mixed in, had surrounded the pack, and were brandishing their swords to cut down any attempt to escape. Most of the Monochromon looked badly wounded, and one was already in the process of disintegration.

"Whose side are we on?" Taichi whispered to Agumon.

"I don't think we're on either," Agumon responded. "Think we should wait and listen until we have a better idea what they're fighting over; it's not as clear-cut here as against Devimon." The sixteen ducked behind a particularly large snowbank, hoping to monitor the fighting should it demand their intervention, but right now neither was actually fighting; the two armies seemed to have made a temporary truce.

"Just surrender already," a small, blue pufferfish, the top half of its body covered in spiked chrome digizoid armor, wearing long red armguards that terminated in equally spiked gloves, commanded. "You can't protect your domain alone."

"Protect?" the armored elephant digimon leading the quadruped pack angrily snarled. "Is this what you call protection? The only digimon we need protection from are you and your Musyamon army!"

"And why is that?" the pufferfish asked. "It's because my soldiers conquered every digimon in the region who could possibly threaten you! Do you really think you'd be better off if Chaosdramon was still around?"

"I didn't fight Chaosdramon with you to see you become the same kind of tyrant," Mammon said sadly. "We allied for _both_ our domains, and I'm not placing the digimon of my realm at the mercy of your thugs."

"And what of the digimon beyond your domain?" Pukumon asked. "How do you expect me to protect them if you won't let me cross? I've done what I had to do to protect everyone here."

It was at this point in the conversation that Mimi popped out of hiding, her digivice glowing bright. "They both have their points, but I can't let this end in yet another fight. Palmon, let's stop this."

"Palmon, evolve! Togemon! Togemon, evolve! Lilimon!" Mimi's plant digimon grew larger and taller to become a cactus, and the cactus opened to reveal a pink fairy with four leafy wings, who carried her (much slower, still human) partner through the air high enough to get their attention.

The Mammon paid the strange voice from afar no mind, but the Pukumon quickly turned skyward. "Mimi? Is that you?"

"It is," she answered tersely.

"I served in your army back when I was an Otamamon. It's been a long time – and I've gotten much stronger! Now I'm doing my part to protect the digital world myself – if only _some_ digimon would listen." The armored mammoth he gestured to stamped his feet into the snow, kicking an insulting snow shower the Pukumon's way.

"Well, if that's the case..." Mimi said, crossing her arms as her digimon lowered her to the ground, "then as your princess and commanding officer, I order you to cease this at once!"

Pukumon hesitated for a moment, considering Mimi's words, which clearly weighed heavily on him. "You've always been an inspiration to me... but if you've chosen to plunge the digital world into chaos, then I guess we'll have to be enemies now. Maybe the selfish girl who wouldn't wake up Tonosama Gekomon was the real you."

"Lilimon! Purify this jerk!" a furious Mimi shouted.

"Flower Necklace!" The fairy digimon wrapped a ring of flowers around Pukumon's round body, careful not to lay it on a single spike, and for a moment, as with DarkTyranomon in Lilimon's first fight, it seemed to be working, the digimon stopping and slowly morphing into what would surely be a less viral equivalent. But black energy soon swelled up from the Pukumon's many spikes, and the necklace shattered into falling flowers.

"If it's a fight you want, fine. Britain Punch!" Pukumon swung its spiked chrome digizoid fist at the flower fairy in the sort of furious jab pioneered by 19th-century boxers – although one may fairly note that the British gentlemen who gave this attack their name would never sink so low as to hit a woman, let alone cover their gloves in spikes.

"How many more digimon need to fall before you're satisfied, Pukumon?" an angry Mimi protested as she raced towards the circle struggling against the Musyamon who had grabbed her once she tried to race into their circle to grab her falling digimonn. "The digital world can only live in peace when digimon like you stop fighting! Even if you massacre these Monochromon and kill the Mammon leading them, who's next? This world is too big for any one digimon to rule, and the only ones who tried brought misery! I don't care if you served me once; you're now the problem we've come here to fight! Just stop this before it's too late..."

"Lilimon, ultimate evolve! Rosemon!" The pink flower on Lilimon's head turned into a red rose and grew down over her eyes, while thorny whips bound much of her body, emphasizing her figure in a manner recalling a dominatrix – and two more whips appeared in her hands, giving her much stronger weapons than flowers.

As the other chosen children emerged from their hiding spot to back Mimi up, Rosemon motioned them back. "I'll purify him, no matter what it takes to do it. This is _my_ fight."

"So you're no different than me. Needle Squall!" The Pukumon puffed up its body, sending a barrage of chrome digizoid spikes Rosemon's way; her whips could not cut them, so she deflected them harmlessly into the snow.

"Thorn Whip!" Rosemon's arm-whips raked into Pukumon, clutching the digimon warlord's body as they crackled with electricity, while black energy slowly – too slowly – began to dissipate from her foe.

"Rosemon, stop! You're killing him!" Mimi cried, but her digimon pointed with her other whip to the battlefield – the circle of Monochromon, nearly all badly injured, some halfway to death. "I sent you to end this fight... not make it worse!"

Rosemon withdrew her whip and Pukumon fell to the ground, his dark energy halfway escaped from his body, remnants of a MarineAngemon's wing – his purified form – peeking out from his back. But it was too late.

"I'm sorry, everyone. Protect our world in my absence... and don't become a tyrant in the process," the mutant digimon begged, speaking to his followers and enemies alike, then burst into data as Mimi fell to the ground in tears.

* * *

"I wanted an adventure, but not like this! There's so much else to see in the digital world, so why does everyone just have to die?"

"I'm sorry, Mimi. I tried to drive out the virus that was controlling him, but I couldn't do it without killing him," an equally regretful Rosemon said, putting a sympathetic hand on her partner's back, which shifted in shape from a humanoid's to a plant's as she devolved to Palmon.

"Is the rest of this adventure just going to be a bloodbath? Is there anything we can do?" Mimi pounded a first into the snowy ground, shedding tears for yet another digimon's death.

As she cried, the two armies retreated from one another – the Musyamon obeying their lord's final command – and a familiar voice and hologram emerged after yet another victory.

"There is a way to stop this, but it will cost all of you the ability to evolve to the Perfect level, let alone Ultimate," Gennai said. "Although I suppose you won't need to fight anymore once you sacrifice your crests' power to purify the digital world."

"It's a deal," Mimi said, and the other fifteen reluctantly nodded agreement.

"We'll still be able to see the digital world, right?" Takeru asked. "I don't want to say goodbye again this quickly."

"I'll open the gate for you every now and then," Gennai said with a smile. "And if there's any digimon this purification misses, I'm sure Angemon and the others will be up to the task."

At the time, none knew that they were two years from needing a younger generation to fight a new conqueror – this one from the human world – with a far older one pulling his strings. At the time, the children and their digimon truly believed they had saved the digital world for good, and they need never evolve to fight again.

If they had known, as much as they had mourned for the digital world's renewed strife, they would have never accepted this deal.


End file.
